


Twinlight

by glennthewalmartguy, sobermeup



Category: Life and Death - Stephenie Meyer, Twilight Series - All Media Types, Twilight Series - Stephenie Meyer
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Twins, And Bella Doesn't Take Edward's Shit, Beau Swan is Clumsier, Bella Swan Has a Twin, Bella Swan with a Backbone, But like... Just for a Minute, Canon but Gay, Canon but with Twins, Car Accidents, Character Death In Dream, Clumsy Beau Swan, Clumsy Bella Swan, Edward Gaslights Bella, F/F, F/M, Gay Beau Swan, Hospitals, Human Bella Swan, M/M, Mild Blood, Out of Character Bella Swan, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Trauma Dream, Unnecessary Ogling of Dr. Cullen, homophobia doesn't exist because we're gay and we don't like it
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-01
Updated: 2020-07-10
Packaged: 2021-03-01 18:15:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 14,341
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23951413
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/glennthewalmartguy/pseuds/glennthewalmartguy, https://archiveofourown.org/users/sobermeup/pseuds/sobermeup
Summary: Twins Bella and Beau Swan are moving from their sunny home of Arizona to the tiny, dreary town of Forks, Washington. They're both a little unhappy about it but won't say as much to their mother. In Forks, they reunite with their father and meet two very interesting people.Beau can't help but be entranced by the pale, mysterious Edward Cullen.Bella can't help but be enamored by their childhood friend, the bright, tenacious Jules Black.
Relationships: Edward Cullen/Beau Swan, Jules Black/Bella Swan
Comments: 12
Kudos: 57





	1. First Sight

**Author's Note:**

> So, Glenn and I were talking and we kinda said... what if we wrote Twilight but Gay™. But Glenn wanted to write Bella/Jules and I wanted to write Beau/Edward. So I said, how about both? And this monstrosity was born. Be aware that we are not going to follow canon to a T. We'll be adding stuff and changing it around to make it make more sense in the context of Twins. But we hope y'all enjoy this. 
> 
> Glenn is team Jacob and I am team Edward so this is our beautiful, messy, gay compromise. 
> 
> -sobermeup

“My little Bees… are you sure?” Renee rests one hand on each of the twin’s shoulders. Bella smiles tensely at her mom, her false confidence reassuring Renee. 

“Absolutely. We’ll be fine. Go live with Phil.”

Beau scoffs, not looking at either woman. 

“Beau, baby? Are _you_ sure?” Renee turns to him, her eyes creased with worry. There is a tense moment of silence. Bella unsubtly pinches Beau on the arm.

“Ow!” He snaps, turning to his twin, he looks back at his mother with a sigh, “Yeah, Mom. Charlie’ll be great. It’ll be great. Everything is great.”

“I’ll get everything set up as soon as I can-”

Bella smiles, “No, Mom. I got it. Beau and I have tickets up to Port Angeles and I’ll have Charlie pick us up.”

Renee smiles and tilts her head, looking at Bella, “You know you can always call me, and you can visit any time. I love you both so much.” She wraps her children up in her arms and takes a deep breath. Beau tenses his shoulders.

“Yeah...” he exhales, “We love you, too.”

-

The goodbye at the airport is short and sweet. Renee reminds them to email her and call her more times than necessary. Phil gives Bella an awkward hug and Beau an even more awkward pat on the back. 

Charlie’s first meeting with them is… also awkward. 

He ruffles Beau’s hair and asks them both, “So, how was your flight?” Neither of them meets his eyes. 

Bella mumbles out that it was “fine, thanks,” and they get into his cruiser. Bella gets squished in the back seat with Beau glaring daggers at her as he slides into shotgun. No conversation graces the car for the entire hour and a half drive. Beau and Bella stare out their separate windows and worry about what is to come.

When they pull up to the house there is tense energy between the twins. They share a grimace as they get out of the cruiser and stare at the house they spent part of almost every summer in. They both grab their bags and follow Charlie to the door. 

“Well… You both know where your room is,” Charlie pauses, awkward. “Sorry, you have to share a room still. I’ll let you settle in.” 

“Thanks, Ch- Dad,” Beau says softly and Charlie turns into the living. The TV clicks on and they move up to their bedroom. 

“At least he doesn’t hover,” Bella says. For the first time in weeks, Beau laughs with her. Their dad has never had a way with words. Neither makes a comment about the dinosaur of a computer that has appeared in their childhood room but they do share a withering look. As per the tradition of their summer stays, Bella takes the closet and the right half of the dresser and Beau takes the wardrobe and the left half of the dresser. 

Neither have to say it but there is a huge relief that they threw a collective tantrum when they were twelve about the continued presence of the bunk bed. They move in tandem, without words, a lifetime of close quarters making their movements almost a dance as they settle in and unpack. Beau is finished, lounging on the bed, watching his sister put books on the shelves, knowing he’ll reorganize them later because she is most definitely not, when a loud rumbling makes them both turn. 

“Beau! Bella!” Charlie shouts, “Come down here, please!” Beau turns to his sister, his eyebrows raised, and is glad to see a similar look of confusion on her face. Bella leads the way, pushing their door open and moving down the stairs quickly. He moves at a slower pace down the stairs. Bella has always had a little more grace than Beau. In regards to the rest of the world, they collectively have zero grace and balance, but Bella does have a leg up on her brother. 

At the bottom of the stairs, they find Charlie standing on the front porch, the door standing open. Bella moves outside first and Beau hesitantly follows.

“So, uh, the Blacks have been so kind as to sell me this truck,” Charlie shuffles forward and gestures to a beat-up red pickup behind him. Beau lights up. It’s ugly, but it’s solid, and it’s theirs. Charlie hands him the keys as Bella walks up to the driver’s side door and gets in.

“This is so cool!” she exclaims. Beau hops in the bed of the truck and waves to Julie and Billy, who smile back at him. Billy quickly becomes engrossed in a conversation with Charlie, and Julie walks around the passenger seat to chat with Bella. They’ve all known each other since they were little when the Bees would come home for summer and Julie would come over to play for hours. But, Julie has always been a little closer to Bella than Beau. Beau sees Bella’s body language change. She looks a lot more excited than he would have expected to see Julie again. In fact… he knows that posture. Bella looks flustered. He kind of gets it, Julie has really grown up. Well, time to be the brother that he knows he is.

“Bella,” Beau sticks his hand through the back truck window and tosses the keys onto her lap, “you’re gonna need these.” Bella starts and yelps, jumping hard enough to hit her head on the truck’s ceiling.

“Fuck! Beau!” Bella turns and slaps his hand. Beau pulls his hand back, in pain but smirking. It was worth it. 

-

Their morning is relatively easy and Beau is glad they woke up on time. He makes breakfast for both of them as Bella collects her stuff. She’s a little slower to get up and get ready than he is. She always has been. Beau’s backpack has been packed and sitting by the door since before she got out of bed. He sets a plate in front of her and she grimaces. 

“I know, we need to go grocery shopping. I swear Charlie only eats fish,” he sighs as he goes to make his own plate. Charlie was leaving as he was getting up and they had a good little conversation. Each interaction with Charlie is less awkward than the last and Beau is glad that Charlie seems to be relaxing. 

Once breakfast is over they go to the door to grab their bags and coats. Bella mutters angrily about ‘raincoats’ and Beau can’t help but share her sentiment. He grabs the truck keys and heads out into the moisture. Bella stomps after him, locking the front door behind her. Beau gets to the truck and leans on the driver’s side door, raising his eyebrows. His sister stops in front of him, not amused, and holds out her hand. 

“Oh, you’re no fun,” Beau huffs, putting the keys in her hand and moving to the passenger side. The drive to Forks High School is quiet and Beau is amazed by just how green Forks is. The trees are covered in moss and the sky is a canopy of green, green, green. He misses the sunlight.

Beau and Bella sigh in tandem as they pull into the parking lot. They make their way to the front office where a redheaded woman sits behind a desk, typing away loudly on a computer. She looks up when they enter. 

“Hello!” And just from that Beau can tell she already knows who they are. 

“Hi,” Bella says, already over it, “we’re Isabella and Beauregard Swan.” The secretary nods her head, her smile growing wider. Beau grimaces behind Bella, knowing that they’re probably already the talk of the town. Everyone must be alight with the gossip of how Chief Swan’s twin children have returned. Beau is already on his toes, ready to fight anyone who badmouths their mom. 

Not that he would physically fight anyone. His lack of balance would cause him to get knocked on his ass immediately, but he won’t let anyone badmouth his mom. 

Bella knocks his shoulder and he realizes the secretary is done. Bella hands him a couple of pieces of paper and makes her way out of the office. Beau follows her out and they stop on the sidewalk. 

They compare schedules and Bella laments, “Of course they couldn’t be damned to have us together in more than one class.” She sighs and rolls her eyes. Beau frowns. He doesn’t like the thought of being away from his sister in this new environment. Back in Phoenix, they had all their classes together except electives, and that’s only when they chose different electives.

“The secretary says your teachers need to sign this and that we have to bring them back at the end of the day.”

Beau rolls his eyes, “Okay. See you in…” He looks at their schedules, “Spanish.”

They share a frown and part ways. 

He has Trigonometry first period and he’s almost excited about that. He won’t fully decide until he’s in the class and he sees where they are. If he has to trudge along as they get to where he was in Phoenix or has to sprint to catch up to them then he won’t be excited. But he does like math. 

When he steps in the door he feels a creeping sense of being watched. He looks around the room, but none of the few students there seem to be looking at him. He makes way to the teacher’s desk. 

“Hi… Beau Swan. Uh, I was told you need to sign this.” He awkwardly hands the slip to the teacher smiles at him, taking the paper and signing. 

“I’m Mr. Varner. It’s nice to meet you, Beau. Those couple of desks there are empty most of the time.” Mr. Varner doesn’t say anything else and Beau nods, mostly to himself. He awkwardly turns and sits in one of the desks Mr. Varner pointed at. The hair on the back of his neck stands up again and he looks around the room. There are, of course, the normal stares of curiosity but none of those make him feel on edge. The only thing that catches his eye is the shiny, russet-colored locks of a guy sitting against the opposite wall, two rows up. The guy sits with perfect posture, one arm casually resting on his desk. Beau is reminded of a model in a magazine. 

He doesn’t focus too long on his classmate because Mr. Varner gets up and starts the lesson for the day. Beau is dejected when he realizes they’re covering a concept that he learned months ago. Papers are passed out and Beau is able to finish the assignment before Mr. Varner is even done teaching the class. He has a worrying feeling that all of his classes are going to be like this. 

English passes in the same manner, his teacher Mr. Mason giving him a reading list of books he’s already read. He knows Bella won’t be happy about this. He tries not to fall asleep in English but it’s hard because no one seems to want to talk to him and he’s already heard this stuff. 

Next, Beau has to suffer through Gym. Coach Clapp unceremoniously adds Beau into the activities they’re clearly continuing from yesterday and Beau is ready to shove his head through a wall by the time Gym is over. He tripped twice and almost hit someone in the head. This year is going to be worse than bad. 

  
  


-

Bella is just as unhappy as Beau when they go their separate ways. She frowns at her schedule as she makes her way to her first class. As she gets closer to the building a guy awkwardly falls in step with her. 

“Hi! You must be the new kid,” he says, and Bella can _tell_ he’s trying to be smooth, “I’m Eric. Where are you headed?” Bella looks from this gangly guy back down to her schedule. She relays to him that she is headed to English with Mr. Mason and as he tells her they share a first class Bella begins to feel a creeping sense of boredom with her classmates and a new hometown. 

“We don’t get many… fresh faces around here,” he waggles his eyebrows and winks at her. Bella suppresses a sigh as Eric flirts with her. Small town guys must be dense. 

“I’m Bella… Lesbian,” she says awkwardly, looking down at her schedule instead of at his face. He pauses. 

“You’re the palest girl I’ve ever seen,” he laughs, obviously embarrassed, wanting to switch topics. Bella tries to smile, she really does. It probably looks like a grimace. 

“My mom is part ghost,” Bella says as they enter the building. Eric laughs and Bella thinks that someone else might find the sound endearing. She has her teacher sign the little slip and he calls the class to attention. As the class starts people around her whisper and chat and she knows some of them are talking about her and Beau. She suppresses another sigh. Oh, God. Bella can’t help but think that she’d rather live in the woods for the next two years instead of sitting in this school.

-

Spanish is… a class. Bella has felt incredibly bored in every single one of her classes. Jessica seems nice, at least, and it’s been good to talk to someone that doesn’t want to pick her brain apart about the _exotic, far-off land of Phoenix, Arizona_. She swears that most of the people that live here have never traveled further than Seattle. Luckily, she’s always been one that loves to learn about other cultures. And this is the class that she has with Beau.

Just as she begins to think about him, her brother walks through the door. He looks scatter-brained and sweaty as he rushes to the desk beside his sister and unceremoniously drops his backpack on the ground.

“Bella,” he groans, “I seriously think Coach Clapp wants me dead.”

“Beau,” she groans mockingly in response, “don’t you think that’s a bit dramatic?”

Beau narrows his eyes, “You’ll see. Gym is hell. Coach Clapp is Sa-”

A pale, manicured hand shoots in front of Beau, “Hi!” Jessica’s peppy voice interrupts their conversation, “You must be Beau!” Bella tries not to laugh at the expression on Beau’s face as he turns to Jessica. 

“Yeah…”

Bella, still trying not to laugh says, “Beau, this is Jessica. I have a couple classes with her.” Beau turns to look at Bella so Jessica can’t see his face and rolls his eyes. He turns back to Jessica. 

“Nice to meet you, Jessica.” 

Jessica looks between the two of them, her eyes alight with small-town curiosity, “So, what’s it like to have a twin?” Bella and Beau sigh in tandem and Jessica’s mouth drops open. Bella is immediately annoyed. She’s forgotten what it was like for people to not know twins. Back in Phoenix, everyone knew them and there were two other sets of twins in the school and a set of triplets. She hadn’t even thought about the fact that everyone might be ready to bombard them with incessant twin questions. 

“Well,” Beau mutters, “we don’t have twin telepathy.” 

Bella snorts and Jessica leans back into her seat and out of Beau’s bubble. Hopefully, that will deter her from asking any more stupid questions. Spanish flies by and Bella is ready for lunch, her stomach growling. 

Beau really tries not to roll his eyes as Jessica happily informs them that they can sit with her during lunch. He trudges behind Bella and Jessica, still exhausted from Gym. He is sort of hungry though. After getting food Jessica leads Bella and Beau to the end of an already full table. She introduces them to everyone sitting there and Beau recognizes a few faces but he won’t remember a single name and by the look on Bella’s face she won’t either. Beau isn’t really interested in the conversations going on at this lunch table. 

He can tell Bella is feigning interest but he just doesn’t have the energy. So, instead, he looks around the cafeteria, trying to find something more interesting to hold his attention. The long room has windows on each side, and wherein Phoenix there would have been sunlight streaming through the large windows, here in dreary Forks, rain pounds against the glass creating a soft song underneath the chatter of the students.

Then, Beau sees them. Sitting in the far corner, distant from anyone else is a group of beautiful people. There are four guys and one girl. The girl is small, with dark hair and pixie-like features. Next to her sits a blond guy, whose hair reaches down to his chin. He holds himself inward, looking down at the table. On the other side of the girl sits a guy with short, dark hair whose muscles impress and amaze Beau. Next to him sits another blonde, who’s hair reminds Beau of a model on a runway. Lastly, is the russet haired guy from his Trigonometry class. They’re all impossibly attractive, features sharp and perfect. Not a hair is out of place, not a single piece of clothing is askew. Beau elbows Bella and jerks his head to the group of models. 

They all look in different directions, not talking, not eating. Just… staring. As Bella looks at them, the pixie-like girl stands with her tray and leaves.

“Who are they?” Bella asks, and the peppy girl looks up and sees where the twins are looking. She chuckles. The guy from Beau’s Trig class looks over then, glancing at Bella’s peppy friend, then at Bella, and finally his eyes land on Beau. The hair on the back of his neck stands up and he blinks. Then he looks away. 

“That’s Edward and Emmet Cullen. The blondes are Royal and Jasper Hale. And the girl that left is Alice Cullen.” Jessica shares this in a low voice as if sharing secrets. 

“They’re… attractive,” Bella says awkwardly and Beau can’t help but think that word doesn’t cover it. He glances again at the boy he shares Trig with, his mouth moves quickly, lips barely ever touching. Beau can’t help but think, even though the other three guys don’t look at him, that he’s speaking to them. 

“That’s an understatement,” Jessica says, “But, they’re like.. All together. Alice and Jasper and Emmet and Royal. _And_ ,” Jessica says, her voice rising, “They all live together!” Beau and Bella share a look as Jessica’s small-town roots show in her clear condemnation of them. Though, Beau thinks, that probably would’ve caused gossip in Phoenix too.

“Which ones are the Cullens?” Beau asks, “They don’t look related…” 

Jessica titters and Beau holds back an eye roll, “Oh, they’re not. They were adopted by Dr. Cullen. He’s really young, like… Late twenties, early thirties. Jasper and Royal Hale are actually siblings though. Apparently Mrs. Cullen is their aunt or something and they’ve been with her since they were eight or something.” 

“That’s really nice,” Bella says, clearly wanting Jessica to know that she doesn’t agree with her scandalous tone, “for them to take care of all those kids being so young.”

“I guess,” Jessica says. And Beau decides, with that statement and her disdainful attitude towards the Cullens and the Hales, that he doesn’t like Jessica. She seems… jealous almost. Jessica adds “I think Mrs. Cullen can’t have any kids,” as if that lessened their kindness.

“Have they always lived in Forks?” Beau asks, glancing back at the table of four attractive strangers. Surely, if they had he and Bella would’ve noticed them. Jessica titters again. 

“No,” Jessica says it like it’s obvious, “they moved down from Alaska two years ago.”

Beau feels a surge of relief that he and Bella aren’t the only newcomers in Forks. They must’ve been under just as much scrutiny when they arrived. As Beau watches them again, the russet haired one looks up, curiosity on his face. Beau looks away swiftly, not wanting to hold his gaze. 

“Who’s the guy with the reddish-brown hair?” Bella asks, having watched that interaction go down. Jessica scoffs. 

“That’s Edward Cullen. He’s gorgeous, obviously, but don’t waste your time, Bella. He doesn’t date. _Apparently,_ none of the girls in Forks are pretty enough.” She sniffs, a clear case of sour grapes. Beau peeks out of the corner of his eye to find that, yes, Edward Cullen is still staring at him. 

“Does he not date or does he not date girls?” Beau asks without filtering himself. He looks at Jessica to gauge her reaction and she flushes pink. She stammers a half answer that Beau takes as she didn’t even think about that. 

After a little while longer of sitting and staring, the four of them leave the cafeteria, walking with unimaginable grace. Beau watches them go, not listening to Bella’s conversation with Jessica. When the bell rings Beau pulls out his schedule. He chuckles at Bella’s griping about having to go to Trig. He may like math, but his twin sure as hell doesn’t. They agree to meet up outside the office after school and he makes his way to his next class. Biology II. He realizes with an inward groan that Jessica is walking with him. 

“I heard you tell Bella that you have Bio II. I do too! Isn’t that great?” On the way to the class Jessica keeps up a stream of talking about teachers, classes, school drama, and Beau doesn’t even try to keep up. When they enter the classroom, Jessica parts ways and goes to sit at one of the blacktopped tables. Most of the class is already there and in the center of the room, sitting by himself is Edward Cullen. Beau realizes that to get to the teacher’s desk he must pass Edward. He tries to keep his head down as he does so, but he can’t help but glance up at the enigma that is his classmate. As Beau passes, Edward goes stiff in his seat, his posture incredibly still and hard. Another thing Beau notices is Edward’s eyes. They’re black. 

Beau walks to the teacher’s desk (again) and awkwardly asks him to sign his paper from the office (again). Mr. Banner, with a head scratch, awkwardly tells Beau to join Edward. So far their life in Forks has been a lot of awkward. He realizes with a frown that it’s the only table that has an open spot. He sits down gingerly and sets his bag by his feet. He can _feel_ Edward’s eyes on him and for some reason, Beau is nervous to glance over at him. He steels himself and looks. Edward’s coal-black eyes burn into Beau, his face tense and frustrated. Beau looks back at his hands on the desk, his heart stuttering. 

As Mr. Banner starts the lecture Beau feels a little more relaxed, Edward isn’t staring at him anymore. He’s also disappointed because Mr. Banner is teaching cellular anatomy, something he’s already studied. Beau takes notes anyway, wanting to do something so he doesn’t keep glancing at his strange table mate. 

Despite trying not to Beau glances over at Edward again, having realized he isn’t taking notes. And he almost jumps when he sees Edward’s narrow eyes and concentrated look. He seems… frustrated. Beau almost wants to say something. He swallows. Edward looks away quickly and Beau looks back down at his notes, frustrated. 

When the bell rings, Edward is out of his seat like a shot, vanishing out of the door before anyone else moves. Beau flushes as people around him stare and start to whisper. Jessica catches up with him as he starts to leave. 

“Did you stab Edward Cullen with a pencil?” she asks with a giggle. Beau blushes harder, thinking back to the frustrated stare and dark eyes. He shakes his head, shrugging. 

“I don’t think he likes me.”

“Well, I’ve never seen him care that much about anything.”

“Huh…”

After the last period, he and Bella meet up at the office, like they agreed. Much to Beau’s satisfaction, Bella looks even more sweaty and upset than he did after gym. She groans and Beau tries not to laugh. Tries.

“Fucking Jesus,” she complains, “you were right about Coach Clapp. Shit.” As they make their way to the office Bella complains about Gym and _fucking Mike Newton_. Beau can’t help but grin as she talks. When they open the office door Beau’s stomach drops. Standing at the counter is the one and only Edward Cullen.

“There’s _no_ other class that I can switch to?” He seems full of fire. Beau can only assume that this is because of him, what other class would Edward need to switch out of? He knew the guy hated him, but this is a little ridiculous. Bella scoffs.

“That guy seems like an asshole,” she mutters. Edward looks up at their entrance and raises an angry brow. He must have heard Bella.

He stiffens and turns back to the receptionist, “I see that there is nothing to be done.” He stalks out of the office much in the same way that he left Biology: pissy.

“Yeah,” Beau says, “I was gonna tell you about that…”


	2. The Open Book Phenomenon

When Beau gets to his Trig class the next day, Edward isn’t there. Beau worries that he’s somehow caused him pain. Not that Beau should care, as Bella says, he’s kind of an asshole. But he can’t help but want to see him again. Beau is unreasonably crestfallen when Edward isn't sitting with his family at lunch. He's conflicted. Part of him wants to care about Edward while the other part of him wants to listen to Bella. He really tries to pay attention to his new little friend group. They’re talking about the snow that is now falling. He knows Bella complains about the snow, a little more than he thinks necessary, but he can’t focus. His eyes keep drifting to the table of four that should be five.

But, luckily, or unluckily, Edward is there at their table in Biology. He looks up when Beau walks in. This time, he smiles. It is startling to see him look happy.

“I’m Edward Cullen,” he slides Beau a worksheet for today’s lab. Mitosis, wonderful. He’d only learned that almost a year ago. “You must be Beau Swan.” Beau is startled. Not because Edward is speaking to him, smiling at him, focusing on him - those things are all startling - but because-

“How do you know my name?” is not what Beau means to say, but it’s what comes out of his mouth. Edward’s smile turns into a sort of smirk. His eyes - which are golden brown, Beau realizes, startled further - alight with something. 

“Oh, I think everyone knows  _ your _ name.” Edward seems far too happy. Beau’s brow furrows. He clears his throat.

“No, I- no, I mean why did you call me Beau? Everyone else has used my full name,” Beau says softly. Edward’s smile falters for just a second. Then it becomes just slightly tense. 

“Do you prefer Beauregarde?” Hearing Edward say his full name makes it almost bearable. He says it like poetry. Beau shakes his head. 

“No… Uh, no. I prefer Beau, but I think Cha- Dad has been calling me Beauregarde to everyone. So… That’s what they know me as.” Shocking, more awkwardness ensues. Beau feels like he’ll die of an awkward attack before he finishes high school. 

Edward turns to the front of the room, “Oh.” And with that, the subject is dropped. Beau wants to tear his hair out. Why has Edward completely flipped personalities? And, now that he’s not struggling to make a coherent conversation with him, Beau can think about his eyes. Why are they a different color? They were black, coal-black, Beau distinctly remembers that. And now they are lighter, golden. He must be wearing colored contacts. 

Mr. Banner calls the class to attention and explains the lab they’ll be doing. Beau sighs quietly. He did this lab, he’s already learned this subject. And now he’ll have to do it all over again. And to make it worse he’ll have to share a microscope with Edward Cullen.

“Why don’t you start,” Edward slides the microscope toward Beau. His tone is lilting and just slightly condescending. Beau’s cheeks flush and he watches Edward’s eyes flick to the ugly red splotches on his cheeks. He curses his pale skin tone. 

He snaps the first slide into place and looks into the eyepiece, confident this will be easy. It’s easy. “Anaphase,” he says, pushing the microscope away from himself. Edward fully smirks this time. 

“Do you care if I check?” he asks and Beau makes a ‘go ahead’ gesture with his hands. Edward looks into the microscope and makes a little humming sound. Beau purses his lips. He really thought Beau would be wrong. “It is indeed anaphase,” Edward says, pulling away from the microscope and he writes the answer on the first line of the worksheet. Beau marvels at his flowing script. The rest of the assignment goes like that, with one person checking the slide and the other verifying their accuracy. Beau is maybe a little too smug at the end to have gotten all of them. Edward did too, but Edward didn’t have a lab partner who didn’t believe in him. 

Mr. Banner comes to check their work, he has a disapproving look on his face when he sees Edward’s handwriting on the paper. 

“So, Edward? Don’t you think Beauregarde deserves a chance to learn?” He gives Edward a look that one would give a petulant child. 

“Beau,” Edward corrects and his heart skips a little, “and actually, he identified three of the five." Mr. Banner turns his gaze onto Beau, skeptical. 

“Have you done this before?” 

Beau shrugs, “Not with onion root.” Mr. Banner makes a few more uninspired comments about Beau’s intelligence and walks off to answer someone else’s question. They sit in awkward silence for a moment, having returned the slides to their box and finished the lab. 

“It’s too bad about the snow melting,” Edward says softly. Beau has a creeping suspicion that he’s forcing himself to make conversation. 

“No, not really. And I’m sure my sister will be happy.” Beau doodles idly on his notebook as he responds to Edward. For some reason, it’s easier to tell Edward the truth. It’s easier to not have to pretend to love it here in Forks. 

“You don’t like the cold,” Edward says. There’s a hint of darkness in his tone that Beau doesn’t understand. 

“Or the wet,” Beau glances over at Edward and sort of regrets it. His eyes are intense as if he’s trying to figure something out. Beau feels like a butterfly, pinned down, and examined by an entomologist. A very attractive entomologist. He looks away, deciding that’s easier. 

“It must be hard to live here in Forks,” Edward muses, his tone something that Beau cannot decipher again. Beau ponders it for a moment, thinking back to his argument with Bella. How it’s better for their mom, how she deserves to be happy, how- 

“You have no idea,” Beau mutters darkly, setting his pencil down in favor of rolling the edge of the paper of his notebook between his fingers. His mood has shifted and he would rather roll the paper into little pieces than doodle all over it. There’s silence from Edward so Beau glances up again. He looks fascinated, his eyes full of curiosity. Beau looks away, his cheeks starting to heat. 

“Then why did you move here?” 

Beau is shocked by the forwardness of his question. No one had asked straight out like that. No one was as demanding. 

“It’s complicated,” Beau mutters, tearing off a little piece of the paper. 

“I think I can keep up,” Edward presses. Beau pauses, trying to think his way through Edward’s overly personal questions. He looks up, back into those perplexing, golden eyes. He answers without thinking.

“My mother got remarried.” Beau’s cheeks flush, having unintentionally revealed part of himself. Edward’s gaze is suddenly sympathetic. 

“When did that happen?” 

Beau says, “Last September,” and his voice sounds sad, even to himself. 

Edward nods sagely, “And you don’t like him.” He sounds so confident, no more questions. Just assumptions. 

“No! Phil is great. A little… young maybe, but he makes Mom happy.” 

Edward tilts his head, his eyes confused and… frustrated, “Then why did you move here?” Beau sighs, looking back at the notebook paper he’s slowly tearing apart. 

“Phil travels a lot… he plays baseball for a living.”

“Ah, and your mother made you and your sister move here so she could travel with him.” Edward is so sure of himself and for a second Beau kind of wants to punch him. He has been ready to defend his mother.

“No,” he almost snaps, “Bella and I decided to move here ourselves. Mom was miserable without Phil and-” Beau huffs out a breath, “And we decided it might be nice to spend some time with Char- Dad.” Beau is back to telling the lies he told his mother. The lies he repeated when she stared at him with those loving, sparkling eyes. 

“But you’re unhappy,” Edward points out, his tone a little haughty. 

“And?” Beau does snap this time, quietly, but he’s a little annoyed. He looks at Edward, surprised to still see that ever-curious expression on his face. He’s barely moved since they finished their lab, his face seemingly glued into that expression.

“Well, that doesn’t seem fair,” Edward shrugs, but his eyes are intense. Beau scoffs. 

“Haven’t you heard? Life isn’t fair,” Beau watches as Edward’s expression darkens and his eyes become almost vacant. 

“You put on a good show,” Edward says after a moment, his gaze becoming appraising, “But I’d bet you’re suffering more than you let on.” Beau looks away from him, not liking being read like an open book. 

Beau doesn’t respond for a while, trying to think of something to say that isn’t rude. He lands on, “Why does it matter to you?” That still sounds sort of rude. 

“That’s a very good question,” he says it quietly, almost like he’s saying it to himself. Beau looks over and realizes Edward has turned and is looking at the front of the room. He probably was saying it to himself. 

Bella is not a fan of Forks High School, she’s decided. The people there are still treating her like a mascot, some sort of fun new toy for them to play with. They all ask the same annoying questions over and over.  _ How are you liking it in Forks? _ She hates it. _ Aren’t you so glad it’s snowing?  _ Absolutely not.  _ Was Phoenix hot all the time?  _ No, dipshit, weather exists in Arizona too, it’s just different. She’s bored in every class and her new friends seem shallow, especially Jessica. She’s grown to like Angela and Eric more over lunch, but Mike… God, who would create a creature like Mike? Beau seems distracted all through Spanish and lunch. He kept looking over to the Cullens’ table. Bella hopes that he’s not as miserable in this place as she is. She wishes she could know what he’s thinking. The snow makes her even more upset. It’s cold, wet, and nothing like home. But it’ll be okay, this is something that they chose and something that she’ll learn to live with.

Oddly enough, Bella’s mind keeps wandering to Jules during the more boring moments. During Trig, Mr. Varner talks about the Law of Cosine and all Bella can think about is Jules. She’s grown up a lot. A whole lot, even. Jules seems to be the one genuinely good thing in this empty town. But, Bella isn’t going to be distracted by Jules like Beau seems to be by Edward Fucking Cullen. She’s started to worry about him and that creepy boy. Bella couldn’t be more happy to go home at the end of the day. Beau slumps into the passenger seat, face contorted, and Bella decides she doesn’t want to ask. Especially after having just suffered through Gym. 

Bella fires up the dinosaur computer when they get home, ignoring Beau as he loudly flops onto his bed with a groan. She has to check her email. Mom is probably losing her goddamn mind. 

She’s right. When she opens her email there are three messages from their mother, each increasing in worry and threats. Bella shakes her head. 

“Mom threatened to call the Chief of Police if we don’t answer her emails by five p.m.” Bella chuckles and starts a response to Renee, ignoring Beau’s groan of disapproval. 

_ Mom,  _

_ Forks fucking sucks.  _

Bella pauses, looking at the words and the blinking cursor. She snorts to herself and backspaces. 

_ Mom,  _

_ Forks is fine. Rainy. I’ve made a couple of friends at school. Beau and I have settled in. He’s taken on the laundry, and I’ve taken on cooking. So, that’s normal.  _

_ It snowed today. It was cold and wet but my classmates seemed to love it.  _

_ That blouse is at the dry cleaners. You were supposed to pick it up on Friday.  _

_ Beau will write an email too, he’s decompressing from school. You know, laying face down on his bed, groaning.  _

_ We’ll keep in contact, don’t worry. We just had to get settled in. I love you.  _

_ -Bella _

She sends that off and stands from the desk chair, stretching. She turns to Beau. 

“Hey, send mom an email so she doesn’t have an aneurysm.” 

Bella is downstairs when Charlie arrives home. Beau is still upstairs, drafting his email to their mother. The door swings open and Bella is stirring one of the pots for dinner. She can hear Charlie kicking off his shoes and hanging up his belt. He pokes his head into the doorway of the kitchen. 

“What’s for dinner?” he asks tentatively. Bella doesn’t blame him, her mother’s weird, experimental cooking will always be in her nightmares. 

“Steak, potatoes, and broccoli.” She doesn’t look up from her work and Charlie hums. 

“Oh, good.” He leaves it at that and ambles out of the kitchen, letting her do what she needs to. Beau comes into the kitchen and Bella can’t help but notice how similar his amble is to Charlie’s. He sits on the counter, disturbing Bella’s peaceful kitchen. 

It’s not long before dinner is ready and they’re sitting around Charlie’s kitchen table, in the mismatched wooden chairs. 

“Well, kids. How’s school going?” Bella and Beau share a look at the nickname. 

“I’ve made a couple friends,” Bella shrugs, pushing her broccoli with her fork. 

Charlie asks, “Anybody I would know?” Bella almost laughs but swiftly remembers how small this town is. Charlie most likely does know all her friends. He probably knows their parents and their grandparents. 

“Uh, we sit with Jessica Stanley. Mike Newton. Angela Weber…” She trails off, realizing she doesn’t actually know any other names. 

“Eric Yorkie,” Beau says. Bella watches him hesitate, then he opens his mouth, “Do you know the Cullens, Dad?” Charlie looks up and glances between them.

“Oh, Dr. Cullen’s family? Sure. Dr. Cullen is a great man.” 

“They… the kids,” Beau says, “They’re a little different.” 

Bella pipes in, “They don’t really fit in well.” 

"People in this town," Charlie mutters. "Dr. Cullen is a brilliant surgeon who could probably work in any hospital in the world, making ten times the salary he gets here," he continues, getting louder. "We're lucky to have him - lucky that his wife wanted to live in a small town. He's an asset to the community, and all of those kids are well behaved and polite. I had my doubts, when they first moved in, with all those adopted teenagers. I thought we might have some problems with them. But they're all very mature - I haven't had one speck of trouble from any of them. That's more than I can say for the children of some folks who have lived in this town for generations. And they stick together the way a family should - camping trips every other weekend… Just because they're newcomers, people have to talk." Charlie shakes his head looking back to his dinner. Bella looks at Beau and is glad to see his eyes are just as wide. It’s the longest speech they’ve ever heard him make.

Dinner passes by uneventfully after that. Beau clears the table and Charlie goes back to the living room. After everything is clean Bella and Beau head upstairs. After they both have completed their nightly routine, which consists of waiting for the other to get done with something so they can do it, they both hit the pillow and are out rather quickly. 

Bella wakes up the next morning to Beau standing in front of their window, groaning. He turns, finding his sister awake. 

“It’s all frosted over. Oh, God, Bella! It’s probably all icy! I’m going to slip and fall and die!” Beau leans against the wall, dramatic. Bella glances at the clock and decides that it’s too early to deal with this, and rolls back over to sleep more. 

When they’re standing at the front door, coats on, ready to leave, Beau seems to still be groaning. He follows his sister out into the cold and prays to any deity that he doesn’t slip and fall and die today. Bella drives slowly to school, Beau’s constant pleads to “Slow down!” forcing her to drive at a snail’s pace. Not that she would go much faster if he weren’t here, but it’s a little annoying to have him pestering her. 

Beau gets out of the cab before Bella, knowing it’s going to take him a while to get to his first class. He stops by the back wheel, something shiny catching his attention. He squats down and is surprised to find snow chains crisscrossed over the tire. He stands, holding back sudden emotion. He looks over to see if Bella is out of the truck. A screeching sound makes him turn his head. 

Beau notices several things all at once. Edward Cullen is staring at him, four cars down, face twisted in abject horror. Everyone in the parking lot is looking towards Beau and the truck. A blue van is sliding toward him, brakes locked and squealing. And Bella must be out of the truck because she’s screaming his name. 

The van is going to slam into the truck, right where Beau is standing. And all he can do is stare, open-mouthed in shock as it happens. Then something hits him, hard and cold. It’s not as painful as he expects. 

But it’s only when his head cracks against the pavement and he looks up, the van still coming toward him, he realizes it hasn’t hit him yet. It curls around the end of the truck coming for him yet again. 

A low, frustrated, “Shit!” makes Beau realize someone is with him. Said person grabs Beau’s legs and swings them out of the way of the van. A large, pale hand shoots out and with a sickening crunch, the van screeches to a halt. 

Beau looks up, eyes wide. Above him, face creased in frustration is Edward Cullen. Beau distantly thinks how beautiful he looks like that, his brow pulled together, one corner of his lip pulled up, showing perfectly straight and white teeth. He can feel his heart pounding in his head. Edward finally looks down at him, his eyes - they’re golden today - and face turning to something much softer. Is he… Is he concerned? He looks very concerned. 

“Are you alright, Beau?” His voice is still so soft and Beau can’t even begin to form a sentence. He hears the chaos of the student body in the parking lot so distantly. “How’s your head?” Edward’s voice cuts through to Beau. He winces, suddenly feeling a sharp pain at the back of his skull. 

“Ow,” he says softly. 

Edward chuckles, “That’s what I thought.” Beau hears people calling his name, his sister’s voice the loudest among them. He can’t really find it in himself to be concerned with anything but staring up at Edward. He’s not sure how long they stay there, Beau laying against Edward, his strong arms wrapped around Beau’s body. He feels tingly and a little foggy. 

Suddenly, with a grunt of that of a thousand men, the van is pulled away. Beau hears people saying things like ‘nine-one-one’ and ‘ambulance’ but he can’t really focus on them. 

Much to his chagrin, a stretcher is brought in between the van and the truck, and Edward helps the EMTs put him onto it. He vaguely protests but none of them listen to him. 

Bella is suddenly at his side, glaring daggers at Edward. 

“Are you okay,” she looks down at him, face contorted with worry. “Oh, my God. It all happened so fast. They’re going to let me ride with you to the hospital. Apparently, Charlie is on his way.” 

“Bella,” he says, reaching up for her, “did- are you…” 

“I’m fine. The truck didn’t even touch me.” 

Bella watches, worry twisting her gut as they load Beau on the stretcher into the ambulance. She’ll get in after she talks to Charlie. As she waits she watches  _ Edward Cullen _ talk to the EMTs. She wants to be grateful that he just saved her brother’s life but how in the fuck did he do it? Bella didn’t even see him before the van started sliding toward Beau. She can’t keep thinking about it because Charlie just pulled up. He practically throws himself out of the cruiser and moves to Bella. 

“Are you okay? Are you hurt? Where’s Beau? Is he- Oh, my God!” Charlie notices Beau in the ambulance and Bella grabs his shoulder. He turns to look at her, eyes frantic. 

“He’s okay. He just hit his head, the EMTs assured me that he’d be okay. I’m going to ride with him in the ambulance to the hospital. Meet us there, okay?” Charlie nods, eyes flicking back to Beau. 

“Okay… Hospital.” 

Beau is okay, not even a concussion. Bella is so relieved she can hardly stand. No matter how much she hates Edward, she has to thank him for saving her brother. But… she can’t stop thinking about how he got there in time. It doesn’t make any sense. With Charlie watching over Beau, Bella looks to the doorway and sees Edward peering in. She stands up and follows him out into the hallway.

“Thank you,” she blurts. He turns around a guarded smirk on his face.

“I was there, it’s what anyone would do,” Edward turns and tries to walk away again. Bella reaches out with her hand but misses his arm.

“Wait,” she says, “you weren’t.”

“Excuse me,” he turns to look at her with narrowed eyes.

“You weren’t there. I saw you. You weren’t anywhere near us. How did you get there so fast?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. I was already right beside Beau.”

“No, I know what I saw-” Suddenly, Edward is very close to Bella. Too close. Jaw tense and eyes cold. 

“Bella, you should stay away from me. Just let it go.” Back to that ever-present smugness.

“You jackass, my brother is obsessed with you for some fucking reason so no! I cannot stay away!” Edward pauses, seemingly taken aback. He huffs air out of his nose, his face becoming stony again. 

“Listen, Bella,” Edward seems really angry now, “I don’t know what you think you saw, but that wasn’t it. Go back to your family.” With that Edward turns and stalks down the hallway. 

-

Beau closes his eyes as Bella walks away, ignoring Tyler’s stream of apologies. After he closes his eyes Tyler gets quieter. Maybe he thinks Beau is asleep. He’d much prefer that to him apologizing over and over again. He can hear a soft, calm voice talking. A doctor. Charlie is suddenly making noise, standing up perhaps? Beau opens his eyes. 

“Dr. Cullen,” Charlie is saying. Beau practically gasps. Standing in front of Charlie is one of the most attractive men he’s ever seen. Blond hair expertly styled, uniform pressed and pristine, facial features angular and perfect. It’s shocking that he isn’t actually related to any of his children because they all look so strikingly similar, so unfairly beautiful. 

“Hello, Charlie. Wonderful to see you again,” Dr. Cullen smiles and Beau’s heart stutters, “sorry it’s under such… dire circumstances.” Dr. Cullen turns to look at Beau and he’s sure a flush has risen to his face. “How are you feeling, Beau?” 

“Uh,” Beau gulps, looking away from that perfect stare, “f-fine… Really.” 

“Yes. Well, your x-rays look good,” he looks down at the papers in his hands, “But how is your head? Does it hurt at all? Edward said you hit it pretty hard.” Beau looks up at the mention of Edward, his cheeks recoloring. Dr. Cullen looks up at him and Beau can’t help but feel that the doctor is smirking at him for some reason. 

“No. Really, I’m fine.” 

Dr. Cullen smiles and nods. “Well, then I’ll let your father take you home then.”

“Wait, don’t I get to go back to school?” Beau frowns, trying not to miss Edward already. 

“No, I would rather you take it easy.” Dr. Cullen’s easy smile doesn’t really soothe Beau but Charlie starts speaking. 

“Thank you so much, Dr. Cullen.” And with that, he’s moving to Tyler’s side to look at him. Charlie and Beau meet up with Bella in the waiting room and she’s ready to ward off their classmates as they go to the cruiser. 

Beau sits up front again, sighing as they drive away from the hospital. 


	3. Blood Typing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Edward and Beau eat lunch together. Blood typing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Specific warnings for a trauma dream: blood, mild violence, death

The first night after the crash, Beau starts dreaming. He feels lucky to be alive and thankful for Edward as he falls asleep. But then, his mind starts to wander to what could have been if he’d really died. If Edward hadn’t been there. That’s where the dreams start. 

_ The van slides toward him and this time no one stops it. The last thing Beau hears is a sickening crunch as the world goes black and he gets to see the aftermath from above. Bella screams. Blood runs out from under the van. His mind cuts to the hospital. Doctors come out of the OR covered in blood, they shake their heads. Charlie drops to his knees. Bella sobs. _

_ He gets to see his own funeral, his father looks hollow. Bella seems to have shut off everything. Now, his dream races through their lives. Charlie stops eating, stops trying. Bella tries half-heartedly to get him to do something, eat something. He doesn’t. She stops trying. He grays. He dies, thirty years too early. Bella moves back in with their mother. She is never okay again. _

“Beau,” Bella whispers, “wake up, buddy.” Beau sits up in bed. Bella is there. She’s not old. She’s here. They’re at home, Charlie is alive. Beau is alive.

“Bella,” he gasps as he pulls her into a crushing hug.

“You’re crying,” she says gently, once he releases her.

“Yeah,” he wipes his eyes, “I uh- I had a dream about the crash. But this time Edward didn’t save me.” He dissolves into tears again.

“Oh, Bee,” Bella frowns. She gathers him into her arms and sits on his bed. “Do you want to talk about it?”

“Bumble, Dad died. You were ruined, I-” he chokes on a sob “-I died.”

“Shh,” Bella murmurs. She strokes his head, “you’re okay. No one died. We’re all fine.” Beau takes a minute to cry on her shoulder and calm down, letting reality set in over the dream. He sits up.

“Thank you,” he says, “I’m okay now. Thank God Edward was there.” Bella scoffs.

“Yeah, sure,” she says with venom, “Sorry, I’m happy you’re alive and all, but that guy’s a dick.”

“Shut up, Bella, he’s okay.”

“If okay means ‘Sent from hell,’ sure.”

“Oh, my God, you are such a drama queen.”

“Fuck off, Tamagachi boy,” Bella laughs.

“No, but… seriously. How was he there?”

Bella pauses. “I don’t know.”

“Bella, he was four cars away from us. I know it sounds crazy but… he stopped the van with his bare hand.”

Bella shakes her head, “It’s not crazy. I knew I saw something off. I tried to talk to him about it, he showed up at the hospital to check on you. He blew me off and tried to tell me I was crazy. Said we need to ‘stay away from him’ or some shit.” Bella adds air quotes to Edward’s words.

“How did he do that? That’s not possible.”

“Honestly Beau, I don’t know.”

  
  


The next few weeks after the crash are the worst for both twins. Beau is hounded by incessant questions about the whole thing and Bella is asked just as many. But no matter how many times he says that Edward saved him, no matter how heroic Beau paints him in his story, no one seems interested. No one really seems interested in Edward’s presence. And much to Beau’s disappointment Edward returns to the stone-cold, stoic lab partner he was that first day. Tyler Crowley also tries to get Beau to go see a movie with him as an apology. Beau politely declines each time. He always has too much homework. Or at least that’s what he tells Tyler. Tyler eventually gives up and people slowly start to move on. Beau is immensely grateful to be out of the spotlight. 

Beau and Bella have just left the truck when Mike wedges in between them and throws an arm around both of their shoulders. Beau doesn’t like where this is going. 

“So, Bella,” Mike starts and Beau can already see it tumbling downhill, “Jessica asked me to the dance.” Beau groans inwardly. Oh, God, Mike.

“That’s… nice.” Bella says awkwardly. 

“I told her I’d have to think about it,” Mike says, faking glum. Bella sighs very softly. Beau almost does too, cringing in embarrassment for Mike. 

“You shouldn’t keep her waiting,” Bella says sharply, “it’s rude.” 

Mike chuckles awkwardly, “Well… I wasn’t sure if someone else was gonna ask me.” There’s a terribly long pause. “Someone, uh,” Mike stammers, “meaning you.” 

“You should say yes to Jessica.” Bella is firm, not even looking at Mike. He deflates. He turns to Beau. 

“Well, it is girl’s choice… How about you?” 

Beau wrinkles his nose in disgust. “You and Jessica would be really cute together.” Mike rolls his eyes and is gone just as quickly as he arrived. Bella and Beau share a disgusted look. 

Sitting at the lunch table becomes bearable when the group isn’t focusing on him. They’re talking about a trip. Bella seems interested. Beau should probably try to listen. 

“But you keep saying  _ beach _ ,” Bella says, “I’m not sure you guys actually know what a beach is.” Angela laughs softly and Jessica scoffs. 

“First Beach is literally  _ called _ First  _ Beach _ , Bella,” Jessica says with a little snort that Beau does not like, “And it’ll be sunny! You’ll enjoy it, I promise.” Bella raises an eyebrow at her and Beau can’t help but perk up at the thought of the sun. There’s a soft tap on his shoulder and Beau turns. Angela’s friendly face smiles at him. 

“Edward Cullen is staring at you.” 

Beau’s eyes go wide. “Wait… Really?” Angela giggles softly. 

“He is. And… he’s sitting by himself,” Angela says, looking past Beau, “which is weird.” 

Beau can’t help himself, he turns and looks. And true to Angela’s word Edward is sitting alone, at an empty table. Beau’s heart rate picks up. He vaguely registers that Jessica and Bella have also started paying attention. Edward smirks, raises his hand, and waves slightly. Jessica gasps. 

“Is he talking to you?” 

Beau tries to form a retort, something along the lines of, “He isn’t talking,  _ Jessica _ .” But what he actually says is, “I should go see what he wants.” And then he’s up, seemingly floating towards Edward. He thinks that maybe the whole cafeteria is staring at them. He also thinks that maybe he doesn’t care. 

Beau stops, standing behind one of the chairs. Edward smiles pleasantly. 

“Would you like to sit with me today?” 

Beau draws his eyebrows together, thoroughly confused. He sits down, not right beside Edward, a couple of chairs away. He is still smiling and Beau’s breath catches in his throat. How is Edward  _ real? _ He seems to be waiting. Beau thinks hard for a minute, trying to come up with something clever. 

“This is… different,” is not clever at all but he can’t  _ think _ around Edward.

Edward chuckles, “I’ve decided that if I’m going to hell, I might as well do it thoroughly.” Now it’s Beau’s turn to wait, wanting more, wanting an  _ explanation  _ but Edward seems content to just sit and stare at Beau. 

“You  _ know _ that doesn’t make sense, right?”

“I know,” Edward smiles slyly, “I think your friends - and sister - are mad at me for taking you away.” Beau’s heart stutters at the thought of Edward  _ taking Beau _ from anything. He wants to scoff at himself. Is he an 18th-century damsel in distress?

“They’ll survive,” Beau quips. He can  _ feel _ Bella’s stare on his back, and Jessica’s red-hot jealousy. 

“I may not give you back,” Edward says, leaning forward with a wicked glint in his eyes. Beau blushes, all sorts of feelings coming to the surface.  _ It’s not fair, _ Beau thinks,  _ for him to use that tone of voice _ . 

He laughs, “You look worried.” 

Beau can’t believe Edward would take his facial expression for  _ worried.  _ He’s far from worried. “No,” Beau says instead, “I’m just surprised. What-” he fumbles for a minute, “Why am I sitting with you today?” 

Edward shrugs, his eyes very momentarily flicking to his family’s table, “I told you. I decided I don’t want to stay away from you. What I said to your sister- I’m giving up.” 

Beau raises an eyebrow, “Giving up?” 

He chuckles, looking down at the table for a moment, “I’ve decided I’m done being good, I’m going to do what I want and let the chips fall where they may.” When Edward looks up, his smile has faded and there’s a hard edge in his eyes. Beau tilts his head, considering Edward. He really doesn’t understand what Edward is saying. Does this have to do with his family? Do they not want him dating someone like Beau? That has to be it. 

“You’re still not making sense.” 

Edward’s smile reappears, his eyes glinting, “It’s a vice of mine. I say too much with you.” Beau shakes his head, scoffing. 

“You say too much? Edward, you say almost nothing at all. None of it makes any sense.” 

He chuckles darkly, looking away from Beau, “I’m counting on that.”

“So,” Beau says, drawing Edward’s attention back from whatever dark place it went to, “are we friends now?” 

Edward looks surprised, “Friends?” 

“Yeah. You know, like actually talking in bio, and like eating lunch together occasionally.” 

Edward examines Beau with a little smirk, “Yes, I suppose we are friends now.” Beau nods, sighing at finally having something  _ normal _ . He looks down at his hands, unsure what to say. 

“What are you thinking?” Edward asks. Beau looks up, startled. He seems frustrated again, his eyes seemingly peering into Beau’s soul. 

“I’m trying to figure out what you are.” 

To Beau’s surprise, Edward laughs, “Oh, really?” There’s a challenge on his face now. Beau shrugs his shoulders, glancing towards Edward’s siblings who seem as disinterested their in lunch as always. 

“Well… you’re really strong. The whole van thing,” Beau looks back at Edward to find him smirking, “You’re impossibly quick and really quiet.” 

“So, any theories?” 

Beau doesn’t like how smug Edward is, but he does like the little grin Edward has on his face. 

“Uh…” Beau flushes, thinking about all of his stupid, comic book theories. 

“Ah, come on,” Edward says, flashing a beautiful smile, “I’m dying to know.” 

Beau shakes his head, looking back down, “Nope. You’d laugh at me.” 

Edward clicks his tongue, “That’s frustrating, you know.” 

“No,” Beau huffs, looking up, “I can’t imagine how it would be frustrating for someone to make mysterious little remarks that are specifically designed to keep you up at night. That’s not at all something I understand,  _ completely _ .” 

Edward’s smile grows and he chuckles quietly.

“You’re too quick, Beau. Most people don’t…” And he just trails off. Beau kind of wants to shout. He’s so  _ unnecessarily mysterious. _

“Can I ask a favor,” Beau asks before he can stop himself. Edward quirks an eyebrow, giving Beau an almost shocked look. 

“That depends,” Edward says softly, eyes glinting mischievously. 

“The next time that you decide you’re going to be good,” Beau refrains from putting air quotes around that word, feeling ridiculous as he says it, “can you give me a warning? Before you go all cold shoulder, pretending I don’t exist?” 

Edward tilts his head thoughtfully, a smirk playing at his lips. “I suppose that’s fair.” 

“Good,” Beau exhales. Maybe this won’t be so bad. Maybe Edward  _ can _ be a regular person. 

“Can I have an answer in return?” 

Beau shrugs, “Sure.” 

“Tell me one theory.” 

Oh, shit. “Not that.” Beau shifts in his seat, glancing back at Edward’s siblings. The pixie-like female looks incredibly amused for some reason. 

“Please,” Edward asks, “Just  _ one. _ I promise I won’t laugh.” Beau looks back at Edward. And he looks far too amused for that to be the truth. 

“Nope.”

Edward leans forward again, his eyes intense, “ _ Please, _ ” he breathes. Beau gulps, feeling warmer all of the sudden. 

“Bitten by a radioactive spider.” Beau curses internally.  _ How does he do that? _

Edward squeezes his lips together, clearly holding back a laugh. 

“I told you you’d laugh.” 

Edward shakes his head, “No. No laughing here. Just…” He holds back another laugh, “You’re not close.” 

“I’ll figure it out eventually.” Beau huffs, narrowing his eyes. Edward does chuckle. 

“Sure,” Edward says, very smugly. Too goddamn smugly. Beau huffs and turns to look back at Edward’s siblings. But they’re gone. In fact, the cafeteria is practically empty. 

“Oh, we’re gonna be late. We should go,” Beau stands, Edward doesn’t.

“I’m skipping bio,” he says nonchalantly. 

“What?” Beau balks, “Why?”

Edward shakes his head, looking away, “It’s healthy to skip every now and then.” Beau hesitates for a second, trying to decide whether or not this is an invitation. He shakes his head, realizing he’s too big of a coward to risk getting caught. 

“See you later,” Beau mutters. He makes good enough time that he’s in his seat before the last bell rings. 

It takes approximately four and a half minutes for Beau to decide he should’ve skipped. Mr. Banner is talking about blood types and the stuff he’s placed on their desks, but Beau knows this won’t end well. 

People are pricking their fingers all around him and the air smells metallic. Beau has his head on the desk, trying not to pass out when Mr. Banner finally sees him. What happens next is sort of a blur. 

But he vaguely recognizes Mike’s voice as he’s led out of the classroom and toward what he hopes is the nurse’s office. Beau groans. 

“Wait,” Beau says weakly as he sinks to the ground, “gonna… Gotta stop.” Beau plants his feet and puts his forehead in the vicinity of his knees. He breathes in through his nose, trying to get control of the situation. 

“You look green, Beau,” Mike’s voice says. It sounds distant and Beau only groans in return.

“Beau?” 

_ Oh God, _ Beau thinks,  _ please no.  _

“He almost fainted, I’m taking him to the nurse,” Mike is saying. And then suddenly the world is rushing by as someone lifts him up. Beau looks up and Edward is smiling at him. 

“I got it, go back to class,” Edward says. Mike protests but Edward is already ten steps away. Another wave of dizziness rushes over Beau and he curls in, leaning against Edward’s chest. 

“So, you faint at the sight of blood?” Edward asks, unreasonably entertained, “And not even your own blood?” Beau wants to quip at him, to take away some of that smug air. But he also wants to not vomit all over Edward so he keeps his mouth firmly closed. 

Suddenly, the air is warmer and Beau can hear the familiar voice of the secretary. Then there is another female voice and Beau is sure they are in the nurse’s office. He is being laid down. 

It isn’t long before Beau starts feeling better. As always. He just needs a minute to breathe through it and he’s fine. There’s a commotion and Edward and Beau both quickly shuffle out of the nurse’s office when Mike comes back with Lee Stephens. 

Edward is up at the desk, talking to the secretary when Mike comes out of the nurses’ office.

“You look a lot better,” Mike says and he looks Beau up and down. It’s almost a leer and it makes Beau uncomfortable.

“Yeah… I just needed to get out of there.” 

“So, you and Bella coming to First Beach this weekend?” Mike asks with a glare toward Edward’s back. Beau tries not to roll his eyes. 

“Yeah, I’m pretty sure Bella said yes.” 

Mike smiles, “Cool, we meet at my parent’s store at ten.” 

Beau nods, “See you there…” Mike gives Beau another full-body glance before heading out of the office. Beau just manages to catch the end of the conversation between Edward and the secretary. 

“Oh, no I’ll be fine. Mrs. Goff won’t mind. But thank you, Mrs. Cope.” 

“Of course, and you tell Beau I said to feel better.” 

Edward turns to Beau with a dazzling smile. He gestures for Beau to follow him out of the office and he happily does. 

“So, what was that?” 

Edward smirks, “Mrs. Cope excused you for the rest of the day.” Beau’s eyes widen. He shakes his head as he follows Edward into the parking lot. 

“So, are you coming? On Saturday.” Beau is hopeful though it doesn’t seem likely that Edward or any of his family would participate in something like the trip to La Push. Just imagining Edward on the trip makes Beau feel slightly excited about it. 

“Where are you going?” He asks coolly. Beau’s hope rises a little more.

“Uh, it’s called First Beach, on La Push.” Beau glances up at Edward, hoping his expression will give something away. Edward seems amused again. 

“I don’t believe I was invited,” Edward glances over at Beau and his eyes full of mirth, a smirk playing at his lips. Beau huffs.

“I just invited you,” Beau says. 

“Oh, how about we don’t push Mike any further?” Edward actually does chuckle this time and Beau wants to retort but he really only can focus on the fact that Edward said, ‘We.’

They’re closer to the truck now so Beau turns toward it. A soft hand on his shoulder stops him. 

“Where are you going?” Edward asks softly. Beau turns around, eyebrows furrowed. 

“Toward my truck.”

Edward chuckles again, a soft, warm sound, “It’s locked, Beau. Your sister still has another class before she can take you home,” he grins, “Or I could drive you home if you’d like.” Beau swallows, blushing. Bella would freak out if he went home with Edward. He would have to text her and it would be a whole ordeal. 

“Why don’t we just wait in my car for school to be over,” Edward asks. Beau nods, eager to be able to speak to Edward without the context of school or Bella’s pesky friends watching. Edward pulls his hand away and Beau tries not to be too dramatic about the loss of contact. He follows Edward to the shiny, silver Volvo that he drives. 

Edward pulls open the passenger door and gestures with a smile for Beau to get in. He bites his lip and slides into the seat, marveling at the fact that he is getting into Edward’s impeccably clean car. 

Edward shuts the door and is around to the driver’s side quickly. Beau smiles at him as he gets in and shuts the door. He turns the car on and gentle piano music floats out through the speakers. Edward turns on the heater and warm air starts to flow through the car. 

“Tell me about your mother,” Edward says. Beau looks over to see Edward staring at him with curious eyes. Beau pauses for a moment, thinking. 

“She and Bella look almost exactly alike. Mom just looks a little older. Everyone always joked that they were the twins of the family. She’s more outgoing than me. She’s irresponsible and eccentric as hell. She’s always been a terrible cook so I took that over when I was old enough.”

Edward hums, nodding his head. 

“Why did your mother marry Phil?” 

Beau is surprised that Edward remembers the name. He’d only said it once, and that was a while ago. It takes him a moment to form an answer, “She’s… a whirlwind. I think without even realizing it, she found someone who helped settle her. She’s always acted like she was still in her twenties. I think Phil has helped her grow up. She’s crazy about him, they’re crazy about each other actually.” 

Edward’s mouth turns up a little, “Do you approve?” 

“Yes. Because he makes her happy and vice versa. That’s all that matters.” 

Edward gives Beau a small smile, a fond look on his face. Beau blushes and looks away, flustered by the sweet look. 

“So, are you going to talk about your family?” 

“Well,” Edward muses, “I’m sure you know that I was adopted.” 

“What happened to your parents?” Beau glances over, checking to make sure he hadn’t offended Edward. 

“They died a long time ago,” Edward says softly. 

Beau frowns, “I’m sorry.” 

Edward shrugs and turns to him with a soft smile, “I don’t really remember my birth parents. Carlisle and Esme have been my parents for a long time. I couldn’t imagine two better people. I’m very lucky to have them. In fact, I’m lucky to have an entire family. I know that some people may see us as…” Edward pauses, formulating his thoughts, “controversial or unconventional. But… I wouldn’t have them any other way.” 

They lapse into silence but it’s a comfortable silence. Edward has turned to look out the windshield, eyes focused on something. Beau takes a moment to admire Edward’s profile, the sharp cut of his jaw, the shine of his copper hair. 

Edward turns suddenly, “School is almost out. Let me walk you to your truck.” 

Beau is left standing, a little dazed, cheeks pink, by the cab of the truck. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> trauma dreams? we have 'em. weak vasovagal systems? we have 'em. fanfic including trauma dreams? we have 'em. fanfic including fainting at the sight of blood? we have 'em. 
> 
> they say write what you know so.... 
> 
> -glenn & sobermeup


	4. Scary Stories

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bella and Beau go to First Beach. Bella gets to spend some time with a familiar face while Beau goes to the tide pools.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i know we said homophobia doesn't exist, but Jessica is an exception to that rule, so warning for casual homophobia

The drive to La Push is one of the least enjoyable experiences of Bella’s life. In a decision that is both unsafe and illegal, their group tries to crowd into the van. Bella and Beau decide to get out and convince another beachgoer to let them ride in their truck. Bella has never been one to care about any high school drama, especially the drama involved in relationships. But Jessica, who ended up in the cab of their truck, never wants to shut up about it, so from Forks to La Push, Bella is filled in on the ins and outs of every couple and would-be couple at their school. It’s… juvenile. And uninteresting. She feigns interest in a way that wouldn’t fool any smart person. Luckily, Jessica is not that. When they finally get to the beach, Bella wants to cry with relief. 

Beau tumbles out of the truck and almost slips on the gravel. Bella grabs his arm to steady him and the pair walk to Lee’s van. There, everyone is getting surfboards and wetsuits out, ready to surf. Others are pulling on jackets and talking about hiking. Bella scans the beach. Well, “beach,” if she’s being honest. There’s no sand on the majority of the land, only a thin line of excessively grainy sand lines the edge of the water, Bella almost mistook it for the gravel that Beau can’t seem to stop slipping on. The group starts to split up, with some going to surf and others saying they want to hike and find the tidepools nearby. Beau seems interested in that, so Bella tags along with him. That is, she expects to reluctantly follow them on a hike. Instead, just as she’s tightening her shoelaces and starting up the hill, someone shouts her name behind her.

“Bella!” It’s Jules. She trots up to stand beside Bella, who is still kneeling with her hands on her sneakers. Bella looks up. Oh, fuck. Jules has her hair down for once. It’s longer than she remembers. And it’s blowing in the light breeze. Jules has gotten really strong in the time that they’ve been away from each other. Her skin glistens in the dreary sunlight. God, she’s tall. Bella looks up at Jules with a blank expression on her face, completely stunned.

“Hey! Uh,” Jules smiles, “I didn’t expect to see you here. We spend a lot of time here on sunny days.” She gestures to some of her friends, playing around with a ball. Bella sighs in relief. An excuse to get out of the hike, that’s why she’s so excited to see Jules. Beau walks up behind Bella as she stands up.

“Hey, Jules,” he says, giving a pointed look to his sister. She refuses to meet his eyes.

“So… I'm guessing you’ll stay here with her, Bumble?” he asks. Bella nods at him, glaring holes into his skull. He laughs and roughly pats her on the shoulder, turning to strut back to the hikers. Jules looks sheepishly at Bella. She smiles. It’s such a good smile. She leads Bella back to where her friends are roughhousing on the beach. A few of the guys stop tossing around a football and wave to Jules and Bella.

“Hey!” One of the bigger guys half jogs up to them and nods at the pair. “So, you must be the girl Jules won’t shut up about,” he laughs. Bella flushes. He must just be joking. Jules looks just as uncomfortable.

“You are such a jackass. Bella-” Jules turns to Bella and gestures to the boy (man?) with her hand “-this is Sam.” Sam is tall and strong, but he’s still young. He seems happy with his friends, but a little wary to have Bella in their space. His smile is warm.

“Sam, I’m Bella,” Bella smiles back, “It’s nice to meet you.” Sam sort of smirks back at Jules. She punches him on the shoulder a little too roughly to be a joke.

“Anyone else normally come around here? Beau invited the Cullens but I don’t think they came,” Bella says. Sam’s eyes darken slightly, he seems tenser.

“The Cullens don’t come here,” he states cooly like it’s something she should have already known. 

“Come on, Bella,” Jules scoffs and grabs Bella’s arm and motions to a dry log near the guys tossing the football. They walk over and sit together. Jules sits second, pausing for a beat before sitting with her legs touching Bella’s. Bella feels her stupidly pale skin flush. They sit in silence, watching the others play games and laugh.

“So,” Bella starts, “why don’t you join them?” She gestures at the group of boys, all clad in tank tops and cargo shorts with short hair.

“Oh, them?” Jules almost sighs, “I don’t know. They’re sort of in their own little club. It’s not like they’d get mad at me or not let me join, but I feel out of place. Like there’s a constant inside joke that I’m not getting when I hang with them.” Bella thinks about the Cullens, and how longingly Beau stares after them. She doesn’t get that whole situation, either.

“I know what you mean.”

The silence resumes. Bella watches the sun move further down the skyline and turns to see Jules doing the same. She looks… insanely beautiful. Oh fuck. Bella is looking at Jules instead of the sky now. She’s gonna puke, who let these sappy thoughts into her brain? What is she even supposed to do with these feelings?

“Jules,” Bella blurts, “do you wanna walk down the beach with me?” This is Beau’s fault. He’s the one that’s constantly making her watch romcoms and talking about every boy he sees. He’s the one that’s made her start thinking about how strong and agile Jules’s hands are as she puts her hair up into a loose bun. How many things those hands have made or repaired…

“Sure!” Jules’ bright tone brings Bella out of her thoughts.

“Awesome!” Bella’s voice cracks and she cringes. The pair stand and make their way down the surf. The sky is getting darker and the waves are crashing on the shore. Bella forces her eyes on the nature surrounding her instead of Jules. Fuck, she thought about Jules. Her hair is wrapped up in a messy bun. It looks effortless and beautiful. Bella wonders if she could ever look like that, like a part of the nature around her. Like she belongs somewhere. The silence starts to drill into her head, and that drill makes her thoughts louder and louder.

“So,” Bella speaks a little too loud, “Beau seems obsessed with those Cullen kids and Sam seems to hate them. What’s that all about?”

“Ah, that’s something that goes far back in Quileutes legend,” Jules smiles, “Do you like scary stories, Bella?” She grins.

“How scary?”

“You’ll never sleep again.”

“I’m ready.”

“According to legend, our ancestors were given the gift of shapeshifting. They chose the form of wolves and used those forms to hunt and keep the village safe. They were powerful and just, but their enemies weren’t.”

“Enemies?”

“Yeah, a new group came onto our land. Their skin was ice cold, almost as if they were dead. They were hunters, too. The cold ones.”

“Pfff.”

“Hey, don’t insult my culture, Bells.”

“Yeah, you’re right, sorry. Go on.”

“The cold ones were dangerous. They were ridiculously fast and strong. They could easily kill humans and animals alike. My ancestors needed to protect their people, so they made a treaty with the cold ones. Stay off our land, and we’ll let you hunt.”

“They killed people?”

“They were blood-drinkers. They claimed to be domesticated and said they only killed animals and never hunted humans. Well, maybe they  _ are _ blood-drinkers.”

“Shit.” Bella shivers. She can tell from Jules’ tone that she doesn’t really believe all this stuff is true, or she’s at least trying to make light of it. But the “cold ones” sound a whole hell of a lot like vampires. And vampires sound a whole hell of a lot like the Cullens.

“Anyway,” Jules continues, “Sam thinks that the Cullens are cold ones. In fact, the cold one that signed the treaty… was Carlisle!” Jules lurches forward and startles Bella.

“Shit!” Bella repeats. She jumps back. Jules notices her genuine fear and stops walking.

“Bella,” she smiles reassuringly, “it’s okay. The Cullens aren’t really cold ones. It’s a legend.” When Bella doesn’t calm down, Jules wraps her in a hug and rubs her back gently. This, of course, does not help Bella calm down. In fact, her heart rate shoots up even higher. Her face is the color of a tomato. Jesus Christ.

“Uh,” Bella pulls back abruptly, “it’s getting kinda late. We should get back.”

With perfect timing, Beau and his friends are getting off the trail when Bella and Jules get back to the parking lot. Friends being acquaintances, but Beau seems to be enjoying himself around everyone. That’s unexpected.

“Bella!” Beau yells, waving his hands in her direction and walking towards her. Slightly limping towards her, with scrapes all over those waving hands.

“Beau,” Bella frowns, “what happened to you?”

“Ah, my little sister, I tripped and slid down the hill a bit. Don’t worry about it.”

“You’re ten minutes older than me and a  _ bit _ doesn’t normally result in fucking limping, Beau!”

“Ah, whatever. Listen, Bella, you should’ve come with us. The tide pools were insane! There were whole little worlds,” Beau’s face lights up as he speaks, “There were tiny fish and crabs, and- Bumble, I saw a  _ starfish! _ It was pink and all prickly looking. It was like looking into a whole little world, I said that already. Ah! I’m gonna be a marine biologist.”

Bella, despite herself, smiles fondly at her brother’s ramblings. Beau often gets fascinated with this sort of thing and decides he’s going to dedicate his life to it. And he does… for about a month. Bella can’t help but be fond, Beau is still going. He’s talking about different colored rocks now. 

Bella pulls herself away from her love of her brother. There’s a more important topic she has to tell him about. She turns to Jules, who is seemingly lost in whatever Beau has going on. She looks so confused.

“Hold up, Beau,” Bella says and speaks to Jules, “You can go ahead and go back to them. I’m gonna clean him up.” Jules smiles, a bit sadly.

“Aw, alright,” she says, “I’m gonna call you, Bella. We gotta talk more.” Before Bella can even think about it, Jules wraps her in a tight hug. Bella tries to hug her back, but it feels like all the air has left her lungs. Jules lets go as quickly as she started and walks away. Bella can feel Beau’s eyes on her before she even faces him.

“That,” he breathes, “was so gay.”

“Shut  _ up _ .”

“I will not! You like someone!” Beau smirks and Bella narrows her eyes. He’s so smug. 

“Listen, we can talk about this later-”

“Yeah!” He pumps his fist into the air. 

“- _ but _ I have something really important to tell you.”

“Aw.”

“Bee, you know how we were talking about Edward? How strong he is and his weird-ass family? I think I know what’s going on with them. Jules was telling me about this Quileute legend. There are these things called cold ones. She said they’re fast and they’re  _ strong. _ I think-”

“TWIIIIIIIIINS!” Mike interrupts Bella and inserts his body in between the siblings, “You would not  _ believe _ the surf I caught!”

“Are you actually surfing?” Beau asks, incredulous, “It’s way too cold!” 

“Hah,” Mike’s laugh sounds fake, “not for these muscles!” He raises an arm and flexes a bicep that is nothing to write home about. 

Bella actually snorts, unable to hold back her laughter. 

Mike ignores her and turns to face Beau, “C’mon. The waves are so killer. You should totally come and see. It’ll be so fun.” 

“But-” Beau starts.

“Ah! I’m so glad. Let’s go!” 

Bella sees the moment Beau gives up, letting Mike grab his arm and drag him away. He offers a weak apology over his shoulder as he goes.

Ten minutes later, Beau trudges back soaking wet with Mike following sheepishly. Bella wants to feel bad for him, but she can’t stop laughing the second she sees him.

“Beau,” she shouts as he walks up, “you look like a fucking wet cat!” Beau doesn’t laugh in response, he simply holds out his arms for a hug and starts chasing Bella around Lee's van as Bella screams at him to get away. The rest of the group is packing up their things, getting ready to leave, as Jessica struts up to Beau and Bella, panting on the ground a few feet apart.

“Oh, my god, Bella! You totally missed the best part of First Beach,” she glances back to the beach where the group of Quileute teens is still throwing around a football, “The hot guys from the reservation.”

Bella frowns, “Uh… Not super interested in the guys, Jessica.”

“Oh, my god, Bella! You’re a-” she looks around as if to make sure no one else is listening, “like, a lesbian?” She doesn’t wait for Bella to answer before continuing, “Oh, is that why you were walking around with that girl? Is she your girlfriend? Are you  _ dating her?” _ Jessica’s eyes have gone wide and her casual homophobia is bypassed by her need for gossip.

Bella flushes and her mouth drops open. Beau finally pulls himself up off the ground and inserts himself into their conversation. 

“No, Jessica. We’ve known Jules since we were kids, butt out,” Beau steps in between Jessica and Bella, his facial expression showing his distaste for her. Bella has to admit that she’s glad Beau stepped in. 

“Alright, boys and girls!” Mike shouts to the group, completely cutting off any opportunity for Jessica to stick her nose further into Bella’s business, “This has been fun! We need to do this again! But, the storm clouds are rolling in and my main man Eric has told me that it’ll hit soon so we gotta head!” 

“Who put you in charge, Mike?” Jessica has turned and her tone is snarky. Bella rolls her eyes and Beau nods in agreement. 

“Me, sweetcheeks,” Mike gives Jessica an exaggerated wink and she groans at him. The group starts to load up their vehicles to leave and Bella suddenly realizes she’ll have to drive back with Jessica. 

_ Great. _

Beau seems to have the same idea, he turns to Angela and says, “Hey, would ride with Bella and I? I was hoping to talk to you about that assignment in government.” Angela smiles and looks at Jessica. 

“You wouldn’t mind, would you?” Angela asks sweetly. Jessica’s eyes narrow minutely and she purses her lips. 

“No,” she says, all false cheer, “it’s fine!” 

“Alright, Angela, come with us,” Bella says, a smile on her face. This will be much better. Beau gently knocks his shoulder into hers and nods once, Bella smiles back. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bruh I was losing my mind writing this. Bella is such a mood reacting to Jules like,,, women pretty. Strong hands good.
> 
> -glenn

**Author's Note:**

> Glenn - can Bella say fuck now?


End file.
